From ancient history to modern days, people have worshipped heroes. Whether they were living or dead, fictional or real, those extraordinary individuals inspired others to be better. In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the theme of heroes in a seemingly brief, but significant way. The novel’s plot revolves around the fate of a young black man named Jefferson, who is wrongly sentenced to death for a murder he witnessed. Most of the novel is presented from the perspective of Grant Wiggins, a black school teacher who is asked to speak with Jefferson to help him die with dignity. Neither of these protagonists bears a close resemblance to the traditional image of a hero at first glance. They seem more like powerless victims of circumstances, which include their specific problems and the systemic racism of 1940s Louisiana. Nevertheless, as the plot unfolds, both characters reveal qualities that allow them to play the role of heroes.
An educated man with wide experience, Grant often reflects on different aspects of the world, including heroes. Back in university, a lecture read by a visiting Irish professor revealed to him the emotional attachment that many Irishmen still have towards Parnell, their national hero (Gaines, p. 89). Years later, he observed how many people liked to talk about their heroes and their deeds (Gaines, p. 90). He also remembered how, during his childhood, his entire community was engrossed in the boxing match between Joe Louis and Schmeling (Gaines, p. 88). A subtler example of hero worship appears in his parents’ home, where a collage of Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Booker T. Washington hung above the mantelpiece (Gaines, p. 104). Grant knows that heroes are important because they can give people unity and strength.
Grant does not believe that he can be a hero. When talking to Jefferson, he defines a hero as “someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don’t and can’t do.” (Gaines, p. 191). As a teacher trying to raise poor children into “responsible young men and young ladies” (Gaines, p. 39) and a man who tries to comfort a condemned prisoner, Grant may seem to fit this definition. However, he does those things reluctantly, not because he wants to but out of a sense of obligation towards the community, which he resents. As a result, he regards himself as fundamentally selfish and unheroic.
Being a prisoner, Jefferson is not obviously in any position to help others, but his attitude is arguably selfish as well. Jefferson spends much of the novel calling himself a “hog” (Gaines 82) and resisting attempts to reach out to him. Despite this, Grant comes to believe that Jefferson can be a hero by facing death with dignity, overturning white society’s perception of blacks as dumb animals. Grant tells him to become a hero because “we need you to be and want you to be” (Gaines, [p. 193). Ultimately, this persuasion succeeds, as according to a witness, Jefferson was “the strongest man in that crowded room” (Gaines, p. 253) during his execution. While Grant denies having had anything to do with Jefferson’s change, it is clear that their conversations inspired Jefferson to conduct himself with dignity. This experience also makes Grant put aside his complaints and recommit to teaching children.
Heroes loom large in any community because they can inspire and influence people by example. Grant believes that a true hero needs to be selfless to be a suitable inspiration and rise above others. He does not think that he meets this standard as his good deeds are done out of a sense of obligation. However, in going out of his way to convince Jefferson to die with dignity, Grant also shows an ability to inspire people to be better. While Jefferson becomes a hero in death, Grant also demonstrates a capacity for everyday heroism by doing more than he has to do and continuing to work as a teacher.
Works Cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. Knopf Publishing Group, 1993.
Sociological Considerations For A Movement Against Overpolicing In Minority Communities
Introduction
The over-policing of minority communities has emerged as a salient issue for activists in the United States. While policing is intended to uphold the public order and protect citizens’ rights, the excessive deployment of law enforcement resources in minority neighborhoods undermines both of these priorities. Due to systemic flaws in modern American law enforcement practices, unnecessary interventions lead to more incidents of police brutality and exacerbation of structural inequality. Police abuses have often inspired widespread protests, but positive change has mostly remained elusive (Almeida, 2019). For a movement against over-policing in minority communities to succeed, multiple factors identified by sociologists need to be considered.
Diverse Organizations and Tactics
Sustaining political pressure over the long term requires the movement to integrate a diversity of organizations and tactics. Multiple organizational forms are needed to facilitate the participation of different demographics. The two types of organizations involved in movements are dedicated activist organizations and non-activist institutions such as churches, schools, and NGOs that can serve to mobilize the general public (Almeida, 2019). In this case, a full-time activist group would cooperate with numerous everyday organizations, especially ones based in minority neighborhoods. This cooperation will manifest in the use of tactics that play to the strengths of different groups. For example, full-time activists are better-suited for conducting educational work on over-policing issues. However, the cooperation of everyday organizations will be required to coordinate large-scale demonstrations. Alternating more and less disruptive forms of protests is another form of tactical diversity. A sufficiently diverse approach will make the movement more resilient and increase its chances of success.
Resource Mobilization
The movement’s sustained operation also requires an efficient way of mobilizing critical resources. Almeida (2019) classifies a social movement’s resources as human, social, and strategic capital. The human capital of minority communities and their majority allies, such as social and informational skills, will be mobilized through everyday organizations involved in the movement. The social capital of those communities will help facilitate this process. Full-time activists will foster strategic capital, understood as organizational expertise based on tradition. The minority communities’ experience of protests against police abuses presents an invaluable source of strength. Identifying and utilizing such resources is critical for the movement to succeed.
Frame Alignment
A practical and widely accepted action frame is necessary for the effective coordination of the movement’s activities. Framing includes identifying the problem (overpricing leading to unjust outcomes), proposing solutions (changes in policing), and motivating mobilization (by emphasizing police abuses) (Almeida, 2019). Frame alignment requires communicating the movement’s message to potential participants in a way that will resonate with their values and experiences. The movement can rely on the centrality of police abuses in the protest narratives of minority communities, as well as the growing awareness of injustice among the majority. Without a successful frame alignment, the movement would fail to maintain cohesion or coordinate its actions.
Countermovements
Countermovements can be a significant obstacle to the movement’s success. They pose a particular threat in the field of ideas, potentially undermining the frame alignment by attacking its vulnerabilities and turning public opinion against the movement (Almeida, 2019). It is advisable to try and anticipate their arguments, such as the role of active policing in crime prevention, and provide compelling counter-arguments. The movement should disseminate information about the harm caused by over-policing to minority communities and society. Resisting counter-frames will be a crucial test of the movement’s ability to achieve its goals.
Conclusion
Combatting over-policing in minority communities will require a sustained effort that makes effective use of all available resources. Embracing organizational and tactical diversity will enable the movement to maintain pressure on different fronts over the long run. The movement will also be able to effectively mobilize the human, social, and strategic capitals of minority communities and their allies. Achieving frame alignment will allow it to coordinate the use of those resources in its operations. The movement will likely need to meet the challenge of countermovements by anticipating and overturning their arguments. The eventual success or failure of the effort to change policing policies will depend on satisfying all of those requirements.
Reference
Almeida, P. (2019). Social movements: The structure of collective mobilization. University of California Press.
Jamel Brinkley’s “A Family” Short Story
Introduction
Jamel Brinkley’s “A Family” starts on a note that immediately raises concerns in the reader. Curtis, a convict who spent twelve years in prison, is discreetly following what appears to be a single mother with a teenage son under the pretext of being interested in the son. The two are the family of the protagonist’s best friend, which gives him an excuse to pursue them. The opening pages also highlight his sexual frustration from years of prison and an inability to find a sexual partner once released. However, the story develops in an entirely different direction once the woman notices and recognizes Curtis. The real objective of the story is to discuss the difficulties that black men have to deal with, the conflict between their expectations and reality, and the bonds they form to combat these troubles.
Analysis
Despite the implications made at the beginning of the story, Curtis is not sexually attracted to Lena, the widow of his friend Marvin. Brinkley mentions that overtly at several points in the story, and at the end of the story, he confirms that the two could never love each other. This claim suggests that Curtis’s claims that his desire to be close to Lena and her son Andre is motivated by an obligation to help his best friend’s family are valid and truthful. However, this conclusion raises the question of why Curtis did not approach the family directly but chose a roundabout and suspicious method instead. In the end, Lena has to take the initiative and start the relationship that eventually results in him moving in. The reason for this choice is revealed as the relationship between Curtis and Marvin is explored in more detail.
Curtis and Marvin are described as brotherlike in their mutual affection at several points in the story. However, Curtis believes that their relationship was much closer than that, to the point where Marvin falling in love with Lena caused a rift that never healed. The affection Curtis felt for his friend was likely not sexual, though he finds it difficult to frame it to Andre in terms that avoid this implication (Brinkley). Regardless, Curtis refused to reconnect with Marvin despite the latter’s attempts at reconciliation. The two’s last conversation, which happened shortly before Marvin’s death, involved him asking for money only to be ignored. Following it, Curtis realized how much he still adored his friend, and the resulting guilt and sadness caused the descending spiral that ended in him running a woman over and going to prison.
In prison, Curtis developed an appreciation for Walter Mosley’s detective novels, which convinced him that Marvin committed suicide because of his mounting debts and the refusal of his best friend to help. The resulting guilt causes the protagonist to seek out Lena and Andre only for his idea to be debunked. He ends up moving in, regardless, only to become dependent on Lena because he cannot find work due to his convict status. Marvin’s issue was much the same; before his death, he lost both his construction job and his side source of income, falling further into debt. Brinkley may be associating these problems with racism, mentioning Curtis’s belief that he would have been imprisoned for much longer had he killed a white woman. Regardless, it is difficult for men of Curtis’s and Marvin’s backgrounds to succeed in society, as they are relegated to low-paying jobs and struggle to hold them.
This difficulty in succeeding financially contributes to the greater theme of black men’s expectations and their contrast with the reality that is explored in the story. Marvin had a dream of settling his mother’s debts and buying her a house, at which he failed despite his hard work. Curtis is dependent on his elderly mother and then Lena at thirty-five because he cannot find steady employment due to his status. As a result, he cannot consider himself a successful man, which is why, despite wanting to provide advice on manhood to Andre, he cannot do so when he tries. Despite the expectation that the men would become family providers, women ultimately have to support them while also playing the traditional female roles. The story ends with Andre expressing similarly lofty dreams, but the topic of whether he will be able (or unable) to break out of the pattern is left vague.
Conclusion
“A Family” raises the problem of the difficulties black men face when trying to succeed in their lives. They are raised with ideas that evoke the American Dream, where hard work leads to success and the fulfillment of one’s dreams. However, they are then faced with the reality of failure, unable to rise out of their social class and likely to sink lower. As a result, they never mature mentally or financially, remaining dependent on their mothers and then wives. They then drag those women down, straining them but never improving themselves. The relationship still makes them happy, but it is dysfunctional, especially if it is prevalent in the community. Brinkley’s story explores this family arrangement and shows how it is harmful but stable, leaving the reader wondering how this problem may be addressed.
References
Brinkley, Jamel. A Lucky Man. E-book, Graywolf Press, 2018.